California Debt Collection Blog

Once a creditor has obtained a judgment against a debtor, it then has the right to attach a lien against any outstanding lawsuits that the debtor is a party to.  More specifically, any judgment creditor who possesses a money judgment against a judgment debtor who is a party to a pending action may obtain a lien in the pending action to satisfy its money judgment. CCP §708.410(a).   This can be an effective means for creditors to enforce judgments and collect debt, particularly business debt in California. To create the lien, the judgment ...

Charging liens, often referred to as attorneys' liens, can be an effective means to ensure that attorneys receive payment from their clients for the work that they performed.  It is something that all attorneys should be aware of, and carry in their tool belt. A charging lien is a lien on a client’s future recovery to secure the client’s obligation to pay the attorney when the recovery is received. Often, attorneys insert the lien language in the fee agreement with the client.  It is also possible that a lien may be ...

One effective way to collect a judgment against an individual is to garnish the debtor’s wages by obtaining an earnings withholding order (EWO) and serving it on the debtor’s employer. But what happens if the employer fails or refuses to turn over the required wages? In California, an earnings withholding order carries the same force as a court order. If the employer fails to complete the memorandum of garnishee and withdraw the required wages from the debtor’s paycheck, the creditor should immediately send a demand letter to the employer. If the ...